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5X5 for Fall

August 14th, 2013

Now that you’ve got your green thumb with your 5×5 Challenge Garden this summer, it’s time to start thinking about fall. No doubt your zucchini and bean plants will be exhausting themselves soon, maybe you’ve already harvested things and have empty spots in your garden. Think about planting things like: spinach, chard, lettuce, kale, and radishes. Their short growing season will let you get in at least one more harvest this year.
Fall Planting 1
Fall Planting 2
Fall Planting 3
I find spinach to be one of my best fall crops, especially a winter hardy variety. Though I must admit, swiss chard is taking over that role, this is my first year growing it and I really like it so far!

What is your favorite quick growing fall vegetable?

7 Comments to “5X5 for Fall”
  1. Bacon on August 14, 2013 at 6:32 am

    Great suggestions for fall crops. Today I planted some lettuce, radishes and kohl rabi. (hopeful to get at least some small kohl rabi even though it is a bit late to plant). Would have planted some kale but they didn’t have any seed at the garden store.

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  2. Nebraska Dave on August 14, 2013 at 8:43 am

    Susy, I have been thinking about fall planting for a couple days now. I still have seeds left from spring planting. I have several heads of cabbage to turn into sauerkraut. It doesn’t look all that difficult. From what I’ve read it’s just sea salt and cabbage with a few days of fermentation. I have some gallon glass jars that I’ll be using for the fermentation. I’m real excited because these are the cabbages that I grew from seeds. I’ve never accomplished anything like that before.

    The first tomato was harvested yesterday. The tomatoes here in Nebraska are way late this year. There’s a plant full of green tomatoes but they just weren’t ripening. I really think it’s the cool (60s and 50s) temperatures at night that’s preventing the ripening of the tomatoes. Some garden things have been great and others not so much.

    Have a great pre fall garden day.

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    • Trish on August 14, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      tomatoes here in southern Illinois (near St. Louis) have been acting strangely for a few years, doing exactly as you describe, not ripening until nearly September. Until this year, when I am getting a lot of ripe tomatoes. And we have been cool too. The last few years were very hot, especially last year. I have been trying to check university extension websites for explanations. I adore my summer tomatoes, they are a nice consolation for usually brutal heat. Which we don’t have this year.

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  3. DebbieB on August 14, 2013 at 9:16 am

    I’m eager to start a fall garden. I have to wait, though, because we still have 90-95 degree days with 80 degree nights.

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  4. sarah on August 14, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Swiss chard and arugula seem to grow really reliably here, and I enjoy both for salads. I like spinach too, but it seems to bolt really quickly. Our fall temps can still spike to 100.

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  5. Bonnie Fowler on August 14, 2013 at 1:49 pm

    My beans are just getting ready to start, I think the runner and pole beans take longer as they spend so much energy growing. I started a row of broccoli last month. I cleaned out more of the bed yesterday. Maybe I will plant lettuce. I had moved my pot of lettuce inside when it got hot last month and two days ago the can decided it made a good bed. He has been in it nonstop since.

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  6. KimH on August 15, 2013 at 11:35 am

    My favorite quick grower is chard..It doesnt need to get gigantic as it can. I let my entire front bed at my house go to chard (grew seed last year and it scattered everywhere) and just recently harvested it & am ready to put something else in.. Havent really decided what at this point.

    With the weather we’ve had here in Ohio, I’ve had basically no garden to speak of.. First time in 30 years.. I even had to buy a bushel of organic tomatoes to have rotel and salsa for the winter.. ugh.. its a terrible thing.

    Reply to KimH's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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